Some artists chase the spotlight for years before finding it. Patti Austin was born into it. Born to musician parents, Gordon and Edna Austin, she made her stage debut at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theatre at just three years old, with her godmother, Dinah Washington, by her side. By the time most people are choosing a college major, Austin had already toured internationally and built a reputation among industry insiders as one of the most reliable voices in the business.

That reputation only grew. Austin became known as the undisputed “queen” of the New York jingle and session scene, with her voice heard on hundreds of commercials and behind artists like Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Frankie Valli, Joe Cocker, George Benson, and Roberta Flack. Her own spotlight arrived fully in the 1980s. Signed to Quincy Jones’s Qwest label, she scored a No. 1 hit with “Baby, Come to Me,” her duet with James Ingram, which became the love theme for the soap opera General Hospital. Somewhere in between all that mainstream success, she never let go of her jazz roots, releasing standards-driven albums that kept her connected to the genre that raised her.

Austin’s later career has been defined by honoring the singers who shaped her. She paid tribute to one of her idols, Ella Fitzgerald, with 2003’s For Ella, and took home Grammy Awards for 2007’s Avant Gershwin and 2015’s Home Suite Home with the Patrick Williams big band, later returning to Fitzgerald’s songbook with 2017’s Ella & Louis and 2023’s For Ella 2. Along the way, fans have caught her in everything from intimate jazz rooms to grand concert halls, a range that speaks to just how adaptable her artistry is, equally at home in a cozy club setting or on a marquee stage.

Patti Austin’s performance ranks among the top dozen shows Middle C Jazz will host this year, and it’s easy to see why. Few artists carry this kind of career: a Grammy winner, a chart-topping hitmaker, and a lifelong interpreter of the American songbook, all in one performer. Having her grace the Middle C Jazz stage is a genuine honor for Charlotte audiences.

Patti Austin performs live at Middle C Jazz July 17th. 

Article written by Middle C Jazz Marketing Support, Kaela Mason.